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Serena Williams Talks Self Love On The Cover Of Essence’s Body Issue

Essence is still switching it up on us, so much so that they’ve even named Serena Williams guest editor of the July 2013 issue she’s covering.

Marking her third time as an Essence cover girl, Serena is appropriately guest editing the magazine’s “body issue,” set out to encourage black women to “Love Your Body!” as the headline suggests.

Serena certainly knows the work it takes to have a healthy sense of self-love, as her body isn’t exactly the common type seen on tennis courts around the world. And even when the stares come from a place of flattery — like black men’s love for her derriere — the tennis pro has still had to learn how to take it all in stride. Serena told the magazine she has her late sister Tunde to thank for her ability to embrace her curves. And when it comes to the attention her frame garners, she told the mag:

“It can be a bit weird,” she admits. “Before it was, ‘Serena has a big butt,’ and that was all. Now there are way more people who feel comfortable with themselves and they’re saying, ‘I’m a woman, and this is what I look like.’ I always say, ‘We’re popular now! We’re finally in style!'”

Thank God for that! Beyond embracing her physical aesthetic, Serena also shared her struggle to get back to the top of her game after fighting a pulmonary embolism two years ago, and how she has managed to be in the best shape of her life at 31.